Associations between Mental Well-being and Personality from a Life Span Perspective
Kokko, K., Rantanen, J., & Pulkkinen, L. (2015). Associations between Mental Well-being and Personality from a Life Span Perspective. In M. Blatný (Ed.), Personality and Well-being Across the Life-Span (pp. 134-159). Palgrave Macmillan.
Date
2015Copyright
© 2015 Palgrave Macmillan. Published in this repository with the kind permission of the publisher.
The associations between personality traits and mental well-being are analyzed using data from
the Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Personality and Social Development (initial N = 369; 53%
males). At ages 33/36 to 50, the NEO-PI and Scales of Psychological and Social Well-Being as
well as indicators of emotional well-being were administered. At ages 8 and 14, socioemotional
behaviors were assessed by teachers. First, both genders show high relative continuity in the Big
Five personality traits and mental well-being during mid-adulthood. Second, the developmental
course of neuroticism and extraversion during mid-adulthood is similar to that of psychological
well-being: over 80% of the participants low in neuroticism or high in extraversion are high in
psychological well-being. Third, early behavioral activity precedes mental well-being and
extraversion.